Sr. Staff IT Enterprise Architect

Appfolio; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 167,000 - 209,000; Full time

Job summary

AppFolio is seeking an Integrations & AI Architect to tackle complex problems across enterprise systems, APIs, and automation. This hands-on leadership role blends architecture with builder mindset, moving from discovery to production. You will shape reusable patterns and guide AI-enabled workflows at scale.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with data and security teams, and drive integration strategies across SaaS platforms, cloud services, and data platforms.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience across software engineering, integration engineering, platform engineering, enterprise applications, or related technical disciplines.
• Strong track record delivering complex production systems spanning multiple applications, platforms, or domains.
• Hands-on technical depth across APIs, integrations, events, data flows, distributed systems, and enterprise SaaS applications.
• Experience with integration and automation technologies such as MuleSoft, Workato, AWS, or similar platforms.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement cross-system solutions spanning enterprise applications, APIs, integrations, automation, cloud services, data, and AI.
• Translate ambiguous business problems into pragmatic system designs, defining boundaries, sources of truth, APIs, events, schemas, and data flows.
• Evaluate tradeoffs across scalability, reliability, security, complexity, and maintainability; balance long-term architecture with near-term delivery.
• Build prototypes and POCs to validate approaches, reduce risk, and guide larger technical investments.
• Work directly with APIs, code, schemas, events, logs, and system behavior to investigate problems, validate designs, and guide implementation.
• Establish engineering patterns across APIs, event-driven architecture, orchestration, automation, batch processing, and data movement.
• Set technical direction across AppFolio’s integration ecosystem, including MuleSoft, Workato, AWS, and emerging technologies.
• Improve reliability and production readiness through patterns for observability, error handling, retries, reconciliation, testing, CI/CD, security, and operational support.
• Turn delivered solutions into reusable components, reference implementations, and shared capabilities that reduce one-off integrations and technical debt.
• Partner with Data and Engineering on system-of-record decisions and patterns that connect enterprise applications with data, automation, and AI-enabled workflows.
• Lead architecture, design, code, and implementation reviews for high-impact solutions.
• Strengthen engineering practices around reliability, maintainability, security, testing, observability, and production operations.
• Identify architectural gaps, scaling constraints, and technical debt and lead pragmatic improvements.
• Influence technical direction across Enterprise Applications, Engineering, Data, Security, and Product through hands-on technical leadership.

Skills

APIs & Integrations

Cloud Architecture

Leadership / Mentoring

Data Flows

Observability & Reliability

Cross-System Problem Solving

Tools

MuleSoft

Workato

AWS

CI/CD

Job description

As an Integrations & AI Architect, you will solve some of AppFolio’s most complex technical problems across the systems that run the business.

This is a hands-on engineering leadership role for someone who thinks like an architect but operates like a builder. You will take ambiguous, cross-system problems from discovery through technical design, implementation, and production. You will investigate system behavior, prototype approaches, design integrations and APIs, build critical components, troubleshoot difficult failures, and work alongside engineers to carry solutions into production.

Your scope will span enterprise applications, integrations, APIs, automation, operational data flows, cloud services, and emerging AI capabilities. You will help teams make sound technical tradeoffs across SaaS platforms, Workato, MuleSoft, AWS, data platforms, and custom engineering.

You will also turn what we learn through delivery into reusable engineering patterns, shared capabilities, and pragmatic technical standards that improve how Enterprise Applications builds at scale.

This role works across Enterprise Applications, Engineering, Data, Security, Product, and Business teams.

Responsibilities

Design and Build Cross-System Solutions

• Lead technical design and implementation for complex solutions spanning enterprise applications, APIs, integrations, automation, cloud services, data, and AI.
• Translate ambiguous business problems into pragmatic system designs, defining boundaries, sources of truth, APIs, events, schemas, and operational data flows.
• Evaluate technical tradeoffs across scalability, reliability, security, complexity, and maintainability, balancing long‑term architecture with near‑term delivery.
• Build prototypes and POCs to validate approaches, reduce risk, and guide larger technical investments.
• Work directly with APIs, code, schemas, events, logs, and system behavior to investigate problems, validate designs, and guide implementation.

Build Reliable, Reusable Platforms and Integrations

• Establish engineering patterns across APIs, event‑driven architecture, orchestration, automation, batch processing, and data movement.
• Set technical direction across AppFolio’s integration ecosystem, including MuleSoft, Workato, AWS, and emerging technologies, choosing approaches based on the problem rather than the tool.
• Improve reliability and production readiness through strong patterns for observability, error handling, retries, reconciliation, testing, CI/CD, security, and operational support.
• Turn delivered solutions into reusable components, reference implementations, and shared capabilities that reduce one‑off integrations and technical debt.
• Partner with Data and Engineering on system‑of‑record decisions and patterns that connect enterprise applications with data, automation, and AI‑enabled workflows.

Raise the Engineering Bar

• Serve as a senior technical leader and mentor, helping engineers navigate complex system design and implementation decisions.
• Lead architecture, design, code, and implementation reviews for high‑impact solutions.
• Strengthen engineering practices around reliability, maintainability, security, testing, observability, and production operations.
• Identify architectural gaps, scaling constraints, and technical debt and lead pragmatic improvements.
• Influence technical direction across Enterprise Applications, Engineering, Data, Security, and Product through hands‑on technical leadership.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience across software engineering, integration engineering, platform engineering, enterprise applications, or related technical disciplines.
• Strong track record designing and delivering complex production systems spanning multiple applications, platforms, or domains.
• Strong systems thinking with the ability to reason through interactions, dependencies, failure modes, data flows, and long‑term architectural implications.
• Hands‑on technical depth across APIs, integrations, events, data flows, distributed systems, and enterprise SaaS applications.
• Software engineering or scripting experience with the ability to prototype, debug, inspect code, and contribute directly to technical implementations.
• Strong understanding of synchronous and asynchronous APIs, event‑driven architecture, messaging, orchestration, and batch processing.
• Experience with integration and automation technologies such as MuleSoft, Workato, AWS, or similar platforms, with the ability to choose an approach based on the problem rather than the tool.
• Strong understanding of API design, authentication and authorization, testing, CI/CD, observability, resiliency, security, and production operations.
• Experience mentoring engineers, leading technical design discussions, and influencing engineering decisions across teams.
• Strong communication skills across technical discussions, architecture decisions, and business outcomes.
• Ability to take ambiguous technical problems, establish a path forward, and drive them through implementation.

Location

Find out more about our locations by visiting our site.

Compensation & Benefits

The compensation we reasonably expect to pay for this role is 167,200-209,000 base pay. The actual compensation for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s skills, education, experience, and internal equity.

Please note that compensation is just one aspect of a comprehensive Total Rewards package. The compensation range listed here does not include additional benefits or any discretionary bonuses you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.

Regular full‑time employees are eligible for benefits - see here.

About AppFolio

AppFolio is the technology leader powering the future of the real estate industry. Our innovative platform and trusted partnership enable our customers to connect communities, increase operational efficiency, and grow their business. For more information about AppFolio, visit appfolio.com.

Why AppFolio

Grow | We enable a culture of high performance, where delivering results is recognized by opportunities for growth and compelling total rewards. Our challenging and meaningful work drive the growth of our business, and ourselves.

Learn | We partner with you to realize your potential by investing in you from the start. We’re cultivating a team of big thinkers through coaching and mentorship with our best‑in‑class leaders, and giving you the time and tools to develop your skills.

Impact | We are creating a world where living in, investing in, managing, and supporting communities feels magical and effortless, freeing people to thrive. We do this by innovating with purpose while cultivating a culture of impact. We learn as much from each other as we do our customers and our communities.

Connect | We excel at hybrid work by fostering an environment that feels flexible, personal and connected, no matter where we are. We create space to fuel innovation and collaboration, and we come together to celebrate, connect, and succeed.

Paddle as One.

Learn more at appfolio.com/company/careers

Statement of Equal Opportunity

At AppFolio, we value diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and depend on it to drive our innovative culture. That’s why we’re a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we believe that our products, our teams, and our business are stronger because of it. This means that no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, age, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, you’re always welcome at AppFolio.